College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ J.S. Ward Society awards top health science students with

Fellowships And Scholarships

Each year, Lipscomb’s J.S. Ward Society awards students involved in health science study and research with fellowships and scholarships intended to advance their future careers in medicine or health science professions or researchs.

The Langford-Yates Fellows and Ward Fellows are afforded valuable opportunities to carry out hands-on research both at Lipscomb and elsewhere, and the LaVelle Scholars and Ward Scholars are awarded resources to continue their study and nurture their journey to becoming health care professionals.

The J.S. Ward Society is composed of alumni in the fields of science, those who have chosen a health science career, and Lipscomb friends passionate about the health sciences. The purpose of the society is to connect university science alumni and friends to make a Lipscomb pre-professional health science education accessible to current and future students.

Langford-Yates Summer Fellowship Program

This fellowship was established in honor of former Lipscomb science faculty members Dr. Paul Langford and Dr. H. Oliver Yates to support undergraduate research in the sciences. Fellowships are awarded to select science students with outstanding research proposals. The fellowships allow recipients to stay on campus over the summer and engage in research with a faculty mentor.

Paul Agaiby, biology major, and Dr. Kyle Brawner, associate professor of biology, will study “Investigating the Potential Effect of the Opportunistic Pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii on Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor: Implications for Necrotizing Enterocolitis.”

Dr. Stephen Opoku-Duah, chair of the chemistry department, will study “Heavy Metal Detection in Middle Tennessee Water Bodies Using Inductively Coupled Plasma–Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES)” with Tony Khalil, biology major, and will study “Removal of Cyanotoxins from Drinking Water Sources Using Copper Sulfate and Sodium Peroxyhydrate (PAK27) Compounds” with Kenneth Klutse, biochemistry and professional chemistry major.

Antouious Mikaael, applied biochemistry major, will study “Isolation and Characterization of 6-His Tagged FimH, and E. coli Adhesin Protein” with Dr. Brian Cavitt, professor of chemistry.

The Herman G. LaVelle Scholars Program

This program honors the life and legacy of Dr. Herman G. LaVelle, who was the first member of his family to attend college and medical school. The purpose of the LaVelle Scholars program is to assist qualified pre-health professions students who demonstrate financial need with application and testing expenses associated with gaining admission to health professions schools.

• Paul Agaiby, biology

• Jafar Aljorani, bioscience, philosophy and molecular biology

• Mark Habeb, molecular biology

• A.J. Hilliard, neurobiology

• Timothy Khalil, biology

• Toby Renfrow, biology

• Mariam Shalaby, biology

• Dionne Trammell, molecular biology

The J.S. Ward Society Research Fellowship

The Ward Society Fellowship allows pre-health students to conduct undergraduate research in the summer at an off-campus location. Undergraduate research is a highimpact educational practice that is transformative; students gain skills that prepare them for success in their current and future programs.

Three of the fellows were selected for the nationally competitive Vanderbilt Undergraduate Clinical Research Internship Program (UCRIP), where they are matched with a physician and with a research mentor. They participate in medical rounds and are assigned a research project in one of a wide array of different specialties.

These three are Joseph Helmy, biology major; Ellie Kowitz, molecular biology major; and Eric Schall, neurobiology major.

One of the fellows, Timothy Khalil, molecular biology, was placed with Vanderbilt University’s Dr. Eric Grogan (’95) in applied research in pulmonology.

Two of the Ward Research Fellows—Abby Powell, bioscience and philosophy, and Carolyn Tran, molecular biology—are conducting research at Meharry Medical College. Powell is working with Dr. Amos Sakwe. Tran is working with Dr. Jermaine Davis.

The J.S. Ward Society Scholarship

The Ward Scholarship is a prestigious award given to outstanding students who are planning a health science career and have excelled in and outside of the classroom. Recipients of the Ward Society Scholarship are students of character and integrity.

All four plan to enter the medical or health care fields upon graduation.

Easton Ball, a piano performance major with minors in biology and chemistry, from Cosby, Tennessee.

Julianna Dilbert, biology major, from Ellicott City, Maryland.

Timothy Khalil, molecular biology major, from Nolensville, Tennessee.

Mena Shawky, biology major, from Nashville.

“Lipscomb has prepared me for not only a successful career in the medical field, but also a flourishing life. The opportunity to be a Ward Scholar truly demonstrates the investment that faculty, donors and alumni have impressed upon me,” said Dilbert.

“As my junior year comes to a close, I can genuinely say that I have a genuine admiration for the Lipscomb biology department,” said Shawky, “which taught me what a great leader looks like and how to be one.”

Learn More about the J. S. Ward Society at lipscomb.edu/WardSociety